In January, SponsorPark hosted a webinar with sponsorship guru Ron Seaver. Ron offered attendees great advice on how to approach potential sponsors. Developing relationships with sponsors isn’t about making them understanding what you do, but rather your understanding of THEIR organizational needs.

Corporate sponsors simply aren’t that interested in your organizational mission or cause, but rather how you can help them use their relationship with you to reach their business objectives. While it sounds harsh, it’s not because they do not “care.” It’s because they have goals and objectives to meet and sponsorship is a tactic employed in meeting those objectives. It’s your job to showcase how your event or organization will be able to help them meet those objectives. This requires research and a strong game plan demonstrating your understanding of their needs.

Ron had intended to site resources and provide additional information during the webinar, but we weren't able to fit all of that great information and answer your questions in just one hour. So, Ron as graciously agreed to come back and present the Secret Strategies for Setting Sponsorship Prices and expounding on the past webinar. The webinar will be held Thursday, February 20, from 2 – 3 p.m. CST.

How the value for a sponsorship opportunity is derived is so important for sponsorship sellers to understand. So, Ron is going to share insight into some of the tactics companies use to garner that value and how you can meet those expectations. Sign up to attend the webinar by going here.

Remember, now through March 4, you can sign up for Ron Seaver’s Sponsorship Boot Camp April 3-4 in San Diego and receive 2 full-registrations for the price of one. AND you will also receive a year’s subscription to SponsorPark.com’s Premium Membership. Information on the Boot Camp and sign up instructions are available by going to here.

The Association of National Advertiser’s recent survey results revealed once again that companies are increasing their use of sponsorship marketing. These results are in line with overall reporting that sponsorship is becoming a bigger factor in the marketing mix. Noted in this particular survey is the continuing difficulty of measuring sponsorship outcomes.

Companies are having difficulty in measuring outcomes because sponsored properties don’t know what to report and brands really don’t know what to measure. According to this survey, media exposure, social media impact and brand recall are most the prominent focus for measuring. Those elements only measure part of the story. Brands should be using their sponsorship portfolio cross-functionally across the entire business platform and their indicators should measure cross-functionally, too.

Nearly two-thirds of the companies claim they’re spending money to measure results, but less than half attempt to isolate the impact that sponsorship actually creates. So, what are they really measuring? Advertisers using sponsorship to measure ONLY exposure and social media impact are missing the potential that sponsorship brings to the table. Sponsorship can be a catalyst in moving the SALES meter, provide a valuable tool in human resource recruiting, employee reward programs, and employee retention, engaging targeted stakeholders in order to alter public opinion. Various key performance indicators can be singled out in order to isolate the impact of a sponsorship and shared with sponsored properties to ensure the message is succinct and relevant.

Property sellers play a critical role in providing information important for measuring, too. Besides measuring the amount of products/services used at an event (pouring rights for example), properties should offer information on all deliverables provided to a brand. Social media exposure, onsite exposure through consumer engagement, signage, hospitality, onsite SURVEY’s, and unique promotions are all quantifiable. But, for success, properties need to understand what sponsors are measuring and gear exposure toward that outcome. At the end of the day, only a company knows if it sold more widgets because of an event. And, if the sponsor doesn’t put something in place to measure selling more widgets – it’s a dead issue no matter what exposure you’re providing.

More media exposure from a left field sign will NOT sell more product. It’s what the sponsor does to activate the relationship with the property that will sell more product. It’s up to the property to maximize the exposure – companies need to learn how to use that exposure to their benefit. Sponsorship sellers need to realize that sponsors are focused on measuring outcomes now more than ever. It’s up to the property to craft ideas based on the sponsors KPI to help the sponsor measure bottom line results.

Conversely, companies need to be more proactive in using tools to help measure outcomes. Brands need to share what they’re wanting to measure Companies can employ smart software like the Pinpoint Sponsor Evaluation System that can equate value from exposure and provide a platform to store information about KPI’s from sponsorships to measure ROI/ROO.

Professor Ed Deming taught management at NYU, was an author, brilliant statistician and all-around genius when it came to establishing processes for business. He famously crafted the quote you cannot manage what you don’t measure. As sponsorship grows, it’ll be necessary for companies to measure outcomes to better manage them. And, until best-practice processes are agreed to industry-wide, it’s incumbent upon all of us to begin shaping ways to measure results.

As a way to draw increased awareness and attention to some of the standup sponsorship opportunities on our site, we’ve set apart one blog per month to put the “Spotlight on Sponsorship”! If you have a premium level listing on SponsorPark, and would like to have your event featured, please contact [email protected] to submit your event, as we are currently looking to fill our 2013 Spotlight calendar. This month our spotlight shines on the “The Grand Citrus Festival.”

What is “Grand Citrus Festival” all about?Inspired by the Fête du Citron in Menton, France, the Grand Citrus Group is producing a four day world-class festival designed to be a signature event for the City of Anaheim in Orange County, CA. The event will be held August 28 – 31 of 2014. The first festival theme is water. Grand Citrus Group felt this was appropriate because of the beautiful ocean which draws millions to the area each year and because it is a valuable & threatened natural resource.

The garden setting of the festival will be the new Grand Plaza which connects the Anaheim Convention Center, the Hilton and the Marriott -- the center point of tourism and attractions – which will be transformed into a water themed art installation.

The festival will feature upscale food, wine, concerts and demonstrations as well as educational and environmental kiosks and with the help of sponsors, all of this will be free to the public.

What makes this opportunity unique?John Gidding, architect & interior designer, brings his breadth of experience to the Grand Citrus Festival as the Host and Creative Director. Currently seen on HGTV’s highly-rated series Curb Appeal: The Block and Designed to Sell, John’s role as Host, Creative Director & Designer will assure a world-class event garnering interest from the media and the public reaching far beyond California.

Getting on board with this new festival opportunity will allow brands to attach themselves to a nationally recognizable name for years to come. For more information on John, see www.JohnGidding.com

Preferred partners?With this being a new event, organizers are able to work with potential sponsors to make this a mutually beneficial partnership success. From food, to wine, to alcohol, to children’s expos and environmental groups, this event offers something for everyone. To learn more about the event and to contact event organizers, visit their SponsorPark listing!

Supporting People's PassionsSponsorPark exists for the purpose of supporting people's passions by connecting sponsors to sponsorship opportunities. Our service allows for proactive outsourcing and competitive partnerships, all while operating more efficiently than ever. Our goal is to introduce the most mutually beneficial relationships, therefore seeing talents realized, business grown and life giving communities unfold.